Written by Wes Chmielowski
Our Marketplace rep sat down with one of our most popular artists, Derek Noble, for an interview on what inspires his art and tattooing.
Q: Outside of Tattooing are you or have you ever been in any other subcultures?
A: I don't know, maybe sports and fitness? I played sports since i was a little kid, played college football, then got into some boxing training for a while. I've always been into working out and shit like that.
Q: What's your best travel story?
A: Well, my shittiest travel story was when I flew out to Australia to tattoo for a couple weeks and got stopped at customs when I got into Austraila. They stopped and searched me, thought I was smuggling drugs, then found all my tatt gear. They figured out I was going to be working there from some facebook post that someone else had posted. They questioned me for about 5 hours and had a police escort put me back on the plane I flew in on. It was a full 48 hours of just flying and being in airports for absolutely nothing, except all the money for flights, missed appointments and I was banned from Australia for 3 years.
Q: Do you listen to music when you're creating art? If so what are some of your go to's lately?
A: Yeah, mostly doom/stoner metal, but kinda all over the place, lots of 90's hip hop and rock. I'v been reliving my 90's teen years lately.
Q: Where do you pull inspiration from in on these demonic paintings? What are your spiritual beliefs if any?
A: Inspiration, late medieval religious paintings, Durer is a big inspiration. I have absolutely no spiritual beliefs. We're here, then we're gone, thats all I know.
Q: Was there a defining moment/event in your life that made you want to become an artist? If so what was it?
A: No, always messed with art when I was a kid, always wanted to do it in some way for a career. I got into tattooing and just decided to stick with it.
Q: Take me through your timeline as far as art goes. Developing your style and what shaped you into the artist you are today.
A: Timeline? I don't know, i started tattooing in 02, was doing walk-ins and whatever came in. I was always into that and I was doing some painting on the side. A few years into tattooing, people started wanted me to tatt the stuff I was painting. That's when I started doing some custom stuff. I just kinda went from there. I've never consciously developed a style, just trying to get better and kinda getting sick of doing the same stuff. My style has drastically changed from what I was doing when I first made a name for myself. I was doing all those girl heads. Now I wanna blow my brains out if i ever have to do one of those again. You know, that kinda shit moves you forward and evolves your style.
Q: What is the most challenging thing about being an artist for you?
A: Time. Tattooing full days, drawing for hours on the days I'm not tattooing for tattoos that I have to do later is draining. As I've gotten older, time is the most valuable thing to me, and at the clip I'm going with tattooing I don't have much of it. It burns you out and honestly I'm losing any desire to paint anymore.
Q: What advice would you give to someone pursuing a career doing in creating art full time?
A: I don’t know man? Good luck?
Q: What do you love most about living in Washington?
A: I've lived here my whole life. Love the weather. Still hang out with some of my best buddies that I've known since grade school. it's my home.
Q: Outside of art, what other hobbies are you interested in?
A: Nothing really. No time for it.
Q: Who are some of your favorite tattoo artists that you've been tattooed by personally?
A: They're all great. No favorites.
You can check out Derek's prints available here. Don't forget to follow him on insta too! @dereknoble36
